Rebels stun Crusaders in opener

The Melbourne-based Rebels caused the first upset in the opening match of the 2015 Super Rugby competition when they beat the Crusaders 20-10 in Christchurch on Friday.

In a game that produced three yellow card – one which possibly could have been red and another that was a dubious penalty at best – the visitors outscored their hosts by two tries to one.

There was further bad news for both the All Blacks and Crusaders, as veteran flyhalf Daniel Carter suffered a another leg injury in what will be his final Super Rugby season.

The injury will no doubt send a ripple of fear through New Zealand and down the spine of All Blacks coach Steve Hansen – who is counting on the flyhalf being a big part of his plans for their World Cup defence in England later this year.

Carter will leave New Zealand after the conclusion of the World Cup in September and October to take up a three-year contract with France's Racing Metro.

He barely played at all last year due to a sabbatical and then a broken leg suffered in the Super Rugby Final in July.

While the veteran was willing to put his body on the line, and made a number of tackles, but he looked rusty and 102-Test veteran then suffered the injury in his lower right leg in about the 56th minute – when he stretched for a high wayward pass and shanked his clearing kick.

Carter was visibly hobbling and spoke to team doctor Deb Robinson at length, but continued to play – which cost his side a try to Nick Stirzaker when the flyhalf made a poor kick and the scrumhalf pounced on the ball and sprinted 45 metres to give his side a 20-10 lead with about 15 minutes remaining.

The most endearing aspect of the game was the Rebels' in-your-face defence – which not only shut down the Crusaders' attacks, but also disrupted their rhythm.

"I'm absolutely rapt with the boys, they went hard and credit to them," said Rebels captain Scott Higginbotham, whose committed effort was at the heart of his side's win.

The Crusaders are notoriously poor starters, usually clicking into gear at the sharp end of the season, but skipper Matt Todd left no doubt the loss in front of his home crowd stung.

"We just weren't good enough tonight, we'll have to have a look at that game and make some improvements, that's for sure," Higginbotham said.

The Rebels who have been wooden spooners in two of the four seasons they have competed, were given little chance against Super Rugby's most successful club with seven titles.

Rebels' fullback Mike Harris added 10 points from the boot for the visitors, while massive lock Lopeti Timani scored a first half try.

Carter slotted one penalty and converted hooker Ben Funnell's try, but was eventually replaced in the 74th minute when it was apparent he could not run with any freedom.

Carter's injury overshadowed a scratchy performance from the seven-times champions and last year's beaten finalists who had numerous errors in accuracy, handling and decision-making that left many of the 13,518 crowd frustrated at their inability to convert their opportunities into points.

Man of the match: Daniel Carter looked well short of match fitness and was then injured, Matt Todd had his moments and Richie McCaw made his presence felt – even if not all of it was legal. However, the real heroes were in the white-and-blue of the Rebels. Nic Stirzaker, despite his early yellow card (which was a questionable penalty at best), was a constant threat to the Crusaders. Scott Higginbotham worked hard and Lopeti Timani was industrious. However, out award goes to new recruit Mike Harris, who was a rock in the last line of defence and kicked 10 valuable points.

The scorers:

For the Crusaders:

Try: Funnell

Con: Carter

Pen: Carter

For the Rebels:

Tries: Timani, Stirzaker

Cons: Harris 2

Pens: Harris 2

Yellow cards: Nic Stirzaker (Rebels, 4 – foul play, stamping), Mitchell Drummond (Crusaders, 40 professional foul, killing the ball), Sean McMahon (Rebels, 61 – foul play, spear tackle)

Teams:

Crusaders: 15 Colin Slade, 14 Robbie Fruean, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Tom Taylor, 11 Johnny McNicholl, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Matt Todd (captain), 6 Richie McCaw, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Ben Funnell, 1 Joe Moody.

Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Wyatt Crockett, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Billy Guyton, 22 Ryan Crotty, 23 Nathaniel Apa.

Rebels: 15 Mike Harris, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Mitch Inman, 11 Tom English, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Nic Stirzaker, 8 Scott Higginbotham (captain), 7 Colby Fainga'a, 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Lopeti Timani, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Pat Leafa, 1 Toby Smith.

Replacements: 16 Ben Whittaker, 17 Cruze Ah-Nau, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Sam Jeffries, 20 Scott Fuglistaller, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Bryce Hegarty, 23 Sefanaia Naivalu.

Referee: Briant Nick (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: Shane McDermott (New Zealand), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

TMO: Aaron Paterson (New Zealand)

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